


let’s steal a moment when there’s no one there

by sickoflosiingsoulmates



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, ben and lily are only in one scene tho, soft! it’s so soft y’all, this was gonna be a 5+1 but i couldn’t think of a good +1 lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-11-02 06:49:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20658146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sickoflosiingsoulmates/pseuds/sickoflosiingsoulmates
Summary: ”Are you just going to stand there, or do you wanna say hello?” Jack says, breaking Sammy out of his thoughts. Sammy just grins at Jack through the mirror as he walks in, wrapping an arm around his waist lazily and pressing a quick kiss to his shoulder.[or, five soft moments between Sammy and Jack]





	let’s steal a moment when there’s no one there

**Author's Note:**

> i’m so proud of this one y’all!!! title from sucker punch by sigrid

**i.**

Sammy’s not quite sure when Friday evenings became weekly movie night with Jack and Lily. Nonetheless, he currently finds himself sandwiched between them on their too-small couch as a movie (Lily’s pick, he doesn’t remember what she said the name of it is) drones on in front of them.

He’s actively not thinking about Jack’s side pressed against his, the way their hands brush when they reach for the popcorn sitting on Sammy’s lap. He’s also not thinking about Lily, who he can tell is rolling her eyes at them constantly.

Movie nights have been like this for as long as Sammy can remember this _thing_ between him and Jack has been going on. He knows what it is on his side, that he wants to be more than just Jack’s friend, but he has no fucking clue if Jack feels the same. Lily says he’s an idiot, but Sammy feels he’s more cautious than anything, not wanting to jump into something without absolute certainty that it’s the right choice.

Which leaves Sammy, sitting next to Jack and Lily, watching a movie that he doesn’t really care about, tense wherever Jack is touching him and vehemently ignoring Lily’s general annoyance.

Normally, the movie will end and they’ll all talk for a few minutes before heading to their respective rooms. Tonight, however, about halfway through the movie Lily announces, “Okay, I’m tired, both in the literal sense and in the ‘I cannot stand your guys’ obliviousness’ sense, so I’m going to bed.” She then stands up and walks out of the room before either Jack or Sammy can get in another word.

Which leaves Sammy with Jack, still pressed to his side despite the now-vacated seat left in Lily’s wake, and a half eaten bowl of popcorn on Sammy’s lap.

“Do you still want to finish the movie?” Jack asks a moment later, voice soft. Sammy doesn’t really care either way, but he nods, if only because time when he’s truly alone with Jack is so rare, he needs to milk it for all it’s worth. That is to say, they watch the rest of the movie in silence and absolutely nothing happens between them, but they’re still smushed together on the couch, so Sammy will take that as a win.

At some point, Jack had tossed his legs lazily over Sammy’s lap, which was fairly normal movie night-protocol for him. What wasn’t normal were the soft snores that began to fall out of his mouth during the movie’s final scene.

Sammy, quite frankly, has no idea what to do. He doesn’t want to disturb Jack by getting up and going to his bed, but he thinks he might lose it if he sleeps on the couch next to Jack all night. Ultimately, his lack of a decision ends up being a choice all on its own, as he soon finds himself unable to keep his eyes open, falling into the sort of sleep state that only comes from sleeping anywhere but his own bed.

He does not wake up in the same half-sitting position he fell asleep in. Instead, he’s shifted so that he’s lying on his side, back pressed against Jack’s chest, one of Jack’s arms thrown lazily over Sammy’s stomach. It feels so natural that through his post-sleep haze, Sammy almost doesn’t recognize that this is not a normal occurrence. When he does, his eyes snap open, landing almost instantly on the figure sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee.

Lily grins menacingly at him, mouthing something he can’t quite make out, though he’s almost positive that he’s better off not knowing. As carefully as he can, Sammy removes himself from Jack’s grasp and heads to his room, purposefully not looking at Lily as he passes.

He tells himself it doesn’t mean anything, and it especially doesn’t mean that Jack likes him back. It doesn’t.

His pounding heart doesn’t seem to get the memo.

**ii.**

The apartment smells like garlic when Sammy gets home.

He’s confused, at first, because historically, the Stevens-Wright household has not been one known for home cooking. Almost always, they eat out, or make something that requires very little actual cooking. The few times they do cook, it’s generally a team effort, and ends in something at least partially burnt.

Suffice to say, his confusion doesn’t dwindle when he sees Jack, alone, standing over a pan. Jack hasn’t seemed to notice Sammy yet, so Sammy clears his throat. Jack turns around, a smile finding its way onto his face.

“Hello,” Jack says, not acknowledging how out-of-place the situation is at all.

“Hi,” Sammy replies, “What are you doing?”

Jack steps away from the stove, still brandishing a wooden spoon smothered in pasta sauce. “I would think you’d know what cooking is at this point, Sammy,” he says, voice laced with false admonishment. Sammy rolls his eyes, but the grin on his face gives him away, he’s sure.

“Obviously. Just, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you willingly cook something, much less by yourself.”

Jack looks away, suddenly shy. Sammy’s not really sure why, until Jack admits, “Well, I wanted to do something special. Y’know, for our one-month anniversary.”

Sammy _melts._ He never thought he’d be the kind of guy to swoon at an anniversary, let alone a one-month anniversary, but here he is, heart bursting out of his chest, stepping closer to Jack so that he can kiss him.

When he pulls back, Jack smiles at him, bright and filled with uncensored joy, so intense that Sammy feels the need to look away. When he does, Jack turns around and steps back towards the stove.

“It’s really nothing special, just spaghetti and garlic bread. Which, speaking of, would you mind putting it in the oven?” Sammy, not wanting to deny Jack anything, does just that, weaving around Jack, who’s busy with the sauce.

The dinner is ready about ten minutes later, and those ten minutes pass mostly in comfortable silence. It’s a testament to their friendship, above anything else, that Sammy is letting the silence sit between them. With most other people, he would be aching to fill it, the blanket of silence sitting heavy on him. With Jack, it’s just nice, plain and simple.

They finally move towards the table to eat, Jack pouring them both drinks before sitting down. “Cheers,” he says, and Sammy huffs out a laugh at how ridiculous and quintessentially _Jack_ the request is. Sammy indulges him anyways, clinking their glasses together.

It’s the best fucking spaghetti he’s ever had.

**iii.**

Sammy has always been the early riser in their relationship. It’s rare that Sammy ever wakes up without Jack in bed next to him. However, that’s where he finds himself today.

When he’s more awake, he can process the sound of the sink running. He gets out of bed, padding to the bathroom where he finds Jack, shaving. He doesn’t notice Sammy at first, and Sammy lets himself admire his boyfriend.

Fiancé. His fiancé.

Jack proposed to him two weeks ago, and he still feels giddy thinking about it. He knows that they won’t get married any time soon, but the thought is there, and he doesn’t think the novelty of it all will wear off anytime soon. Almost on instinct (and isn’t it thrilling that it’s already become instinct?), Sammy reaches for the chain around his neck where the simple silver band rests.

“Are you just going to stand there, or do you wanna say hello?” Jack says, breaking Sammy out of his thoughts. Sammy just grins at Jack through the mirror as he walks in, wrapping an arm around his waist lazily and pressing a quick kiss to his shoulder.

“Morning. You’re up early,” he says, voice thick with sleep. Jack shrugs, and Sammy moves his arm to reach around him for his toothbrush, wetting the bristles. Jack steps over a bit, allowing Sammy better access to the sink. The whole scene is so domestic, everything he wanted when they first moved out to California, it’s almost hard for him to imagine not having always had this.

“I guess. I’ve started this new research project? I got up a bit early so I can work on it before we leave for the radio station,” Jack explains, and Sammy strains to keep the mention of their jobs from souring this moment.

It’s not that he hates work. He’s always loved working in radio, that’ll never change. It’s just - the whole shock-jock act, it isn’t him, and it never will be. But sometimes it seems like that’s all he’ll ever be, just some asshole making misogynistic comments for laughs from people he doesn’t respect and a paycheck. He doesn’t like being that person, and he knows Jack doesn’t like it either, but it’s not like he can do anything about it.

Not all of it’s bad, though. With Jack, it can’t all be bad. Jack makes all of the shit he does worth it.

Jack taps his shoulder once Sammy rinses his mouth, seemingly sensing that Sammy’s thoughts are a bit heavy for a Wednesday morning. “You good?” He asks, small smile on his face. Sammy nods, leaning in to kiss the smile that he fell in love with.

The kiss is chaste, and when they break away, Jack walks back into their bedroom, shutting the door behind him to get dressed. Sammy stands there, overwhelmed with love for a few more moments before closing the bathroom door and turning on the shower. He’s ready to start his day, ready for anything, really, as long as Jack’s by his side.

**iv.**

It’s no secret that Jack loves Sammy’s hair. Even in the Before, when it was close-cropped to his head, he made it known to Sammy that he loved it. Now that it’s long, though, Jack has become downright obsessed. Sammy’s become used to waking up with a hand settled at the base of his skull, fingers tangled in the loose curls, or Jack messing with the ends of his hair absently as they watch a movie.

Times like now, when they’re sat on the couch, watching some movie Sammy’s only really half-paying attention to.

Jack turns to Sammy, a looks Sammy can’t quite read on his face. “Can I braid your hair?”

The words don’t sink in for a second. “I didn’t know you know how to braid hair,” Sammy replies in lieu of an actual response, a smile playing at his lips. Jack grins back.

“When we were kids, Lily hated hair in her eyes, but she couldn’t braid it herself.” Sammy snorts at that. As close as he and Lily have gotten the past two years, he still makes fun of her mercilessly. Jack, like always when Sammy makes a jab at Lily, rolls his eyes. “Anyways, she eventually made me learn. And ever since she cut her hair, I haven’t been able to braid anyone’s.”

Sammy doesn’t answer for a moment, a warm feeling bubbling in his chest. Jack’s only been back for a month, and it’s still difficult a lot of the time for him to adjust to being back in the world, especially since it’s so different from the one he left. Sammy lives for moments like this, where everything feels even better than before. “You don’t need to convince me, I would’ve said yes anyway.”

“I know,” Jack replies simply, the grin on his face mirroring Sammy’s own. They sit there, smiling at each other, before Jack gets off the couch.

“Sit on the floor, I’m going to go get a brush,” he calls behind him on his way to the bathroom.

“Bossy,” he calls after Jack, who laughs, loud and bright, from the bathroom. Sammy complies anyway, sliding off the couch to sit on the carpeted floor below him.

Jack comes back a minute later, a brush in one hand and one of Sammy’s hair ties around his wrist. He’s not even sitting down yet, and he looks so determined to do this for Sammy it makes Sammy’s heart hurt in the best possible way.

Sitting on the couch, Jack settles a hand in Sammy’s hair, running his fingers through it once before using a brush. “God, your hair is so knotted. How do you stand it?”

“Shut up,” Sammy laughs, because he knows his hair is bad. Ben’s been teasing him about it since it got long. Honestly, Ben will probably tease him about the braid later as well.

Jack mostly brushes and braids in silence. Jack’s always been the kind of person to get laser focused on things he cares about. When they first started dating, and Jack started focusing his attention on Sammy (at least, that’s when Sammy started noticing it), it flustered Sammy. He didn’t know what to do with the attention.

He took it for granted before, and now it feels like such a gift to have Jack care about him so intensely again. It doesn’t seem possible, having Jack back, fingers twisting Sammy’s hair into a braid. It shouldn’t be possible, but it is, it _is,_ and Sammy thanks any and every higher being for it daily.

“I’m done,” Jack says, voice low, as he twists the hair tie around the end of the braid. Instinctively, he reaches back to feel at his hair. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with having braided hair, but he can tell that Jack did a good job. Then again, he would’ve thought that no matter what, simply because it was Jack who did it.

“Thank you,” Sammy says as he raises himself back on the couch. He leans forward to kiss Jack, just once, quickly, because he can’t help himself. Jack smiles into the kiss.

(Ben does tease him when he gets home. It’s half hearted at best, though, if the grin on his face is anything to go by).

**v.**

“Line three, you are live.”

“Good morning,” Jack’s voice, dampened by sleep, bubbles out of the phone. Sammy grins.

Sammy couldn’t possibly try to decide what the best part about having Jack back is, because all of it is pretty damn great, but Jack being able to call into the show is definitely high on the list. It helps that Ben has been in platonic love with Jack since day one (really, since the moment he knew who Jack was to Sammy, but that’s besides the point).

“Jack, hello! Great to hear from you, as always. What’s got you calling in so early?” Ben asks, enthusiasm renewed after a less-than-exciting hour in the middle of their show. It warms Sammy’s heart, that Ben and Jack get along so well. Not that he had any doubts that they wouldn’t, but still. It’s different, better than he ever could have hoped, to be able to see it in person.

“Oh, you know, nightmares got me up. But, I’m fine, don’t even stress about it.” Jack says the last part hastily, as if sensing Ben’s, and Sammy’s, impending concern. Ben looks like he’s about to argue, but Jack’s quick to cut him off. “I know it’s not just you tonight, Ben. Where’s my fiancé?”

Warmth flows through Sammy’s veins as he replies, “I’m here. You sure you’re good?”

He can practically hear Jack roll his eyes through the phone. “Yes, I’m alright. Better now, talking to you guys.” A smile, slow and pleasant, spreads across Sammy’s face.

“Well, you know I’ll never say no to you calling in,” Sammy replies, and they fall in silence for a moment. That is, until Ben seems to remember that they are, in fact, on the radio, and are literally paid to talk.

“Well, Jack, is there anything you wanted to talk about? Maybe some new developments with the wedding?” Ben directs the last part at Sammy, wiggling his eyebrows.

And that’s new, too. When Jack proposed, the idea of a wedding wasn’t something they could really think about in any certain terms. Now, they’re surrounded by a town that loves them, and the wedding is all half of them seem to be able to talk about.

“Ben, you know that nothing has happened without you,” Jack says, lying through his teeth. Since the last time they talked about the wedding, Jack and Sammy have picked the song for their first dance. They want to keep it a secret, because Ben would be inconsolable for days if he knew. If they keep it a secret, it’ll at least line up with the week he’s blocked out for crying about the wedding already.

“Fine, don’t tell one of your best men,” Ben gripes, sighing dramatically, and Sammy kicks his leg under the table. Ben kicks his back.

With a sigh, Sammy finally says, “Alright, as lovely as it is to hear from you, Jack, you should really try to get back to sleep.”

“You’re probably right. Love you, Sammy.”

A soft laugh escapes Sammy. “Love you, too.”

“Hey, I love you too, Jack!” Ben calls out quickly, and Ben barks out a laugh.

“Of course, how could I forget? Love you, Ben,” he says, soft and filled with joking exasperation, and then the line goes dead.

Sammy’s quiet for a moment, and Ben is too, staring intently at Sammy. “What?” Sammy asks finally, feeling pinned under Ben’s gaze.

“Nothing, nothing. You just look happy, is all,” Ben replies, warm smile on his face.

“I am,” he says simply. And that’s it, isn’t it? He’d waited for so long, and now he has Jack, and Ben, and a life in King Falls. He never thought he’d be able to have any of it, but he does, and he’s happy. He’s _happy._

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr @ stcviebudd


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